Kevin Saunderson, Justin Long, Octo Octa, Miles Maeda (free)

Over the years we at Tone Madison have become more and more grateful for Le Fete De Marquette’s Musique Electronique stage, as it’s one of the few occasions when big-room house and techno artists reach Madison. This has a lot to do with the passionate underground dance community here being disproportionately small when compared to the big performance fees, enhanced sound costs, and overall resources required to make it happen. This year’s lineup boasts a headlining DJ set from Detroit techno pioneer Kevin Saunderson, whose vast body of tunes has informed not just techno, but virtually every corner of electronic dance music. Saunderson’s early collaborations with Juan Atkins as Kreem helped set the tone for Detroit techno, his 1988 track “Just Want Another Chance” features the prototypical wobbly bass sound heard on myriad jungle records, and his work with vocalist Paris Grey as Inner City is some of the most infectiously powerful vocal-house ever crafted. Supporting Saunderson at the Fete will be Midwest rave pillar and house producer Miles Maeda, heady Chicago selector and co-founder of Smart Bar’s Hugo Ball residency Justin Long, and Brooklyn-based, shimmering house producer Octo Octa. After Saunderson's free set at the Fete, he'll be playing a ticketed after-show at the High Noon Saloon, with support from Madison's own DJ Jared Perez. (Full disclosure: I'm playing one of the Musique Electronique program's other bills this year.) —Joel Shanahan